A Nightmare on Elm Street

GREEN'S "I'M YOUR BOYFRIEND NOW, NANCY" REVIEW:

Nancy and her friends aren't sleeping well lately, if at all. That's because they're all being visited in their nightmares by a burnt, creepy guy in a dirty red and green sweater who uses a set of home made finger knives to murder his victims in their dreams.

I've never been one to get caught up in the horror of the horror film genre. Usually these types of movies are so unabashedly stupid that they're comical. Not so for A Nightmare on Elm Street. This movie, the first time I watched it, really freaked me out. Nowadays I can watch it with the same detached-ness that I view all horror movies.

That doesn't lessen the cleverness of this story and I think that's why this film will always be one of the best horror films ever made. Sure there's your standard blood and guts goriness, which comes du jour with these slasher films. Wes Craven's script is brilliantly surreal and his direction fluid because the story is entirely his and he knows exactly in which direction he wants it to go. As an added bonus, there is actually some decent acting in this film. Of course, this movie will also forever be known as the film that launched the career of the sometimes brilliant, always intense, somewhat odd Johnny Depp.

The special features provided with the Infinifilm, 2-disc edition that I watched were excellent and add to my enjoyment of this film.

Unlike some of the horror movie franchises of the last 30 years or so, I've actually enjoyed most of the Elm Street sequels.

***** out of *****